Today, Saturday, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Chargé d'Affairs to protest the killing of an officer and the injury of nine civilians and military personnel in a clash between Ethiopian militias and Sudanese forces in the border area of Al-Fashqa, accusing the Ethiopian forces of supporting these militias.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Chargé d'Affairs of the day to protest against the incursion of Ethiopian militia supported by the Ethiopian army and its assault on citizens and armed forces inside Sudanese territory," the ministry said in a statement.
A Sudanese officer, with the rank of captain, was killed in a clash with Ethiopian militias last Thursday in an area on the border between Sudan and Ethiopia, according to the Sudanese armed forces spokesman, Brigadier Amer Muhammad Al-Hassan.
From time to time, Sudanese forces clash with Ethiopian militias in the border area of Al-Fashqa, in the Sudanese state of Gedaref in the east of the country, which is a remote agricultural region. The Sudanese government accuses Ethiopian citizens of cultivating land within its borders.
In turn, the Sudanese army accused in its statement the Ethiopian army of supporting the militias and participating in the clashes, stressing that the clashes also resulted in the injury of nine people, including six Sudanese soldiers.
The statement said: "The Ethiopian militias, with the backing of the Ethiopian army, used to repeat the attack on Sudanese lands and resources, and at 8.30 am local time (half past six o'clock) arrived at the eastern bank of the Atbara River, an Ethiopian army force, estimated with infantry company, and clashed with our forces west of the river. As a result, a captain was killed and six people were wounded, including a lieutenant. "
"The number of Ethiopian farmers who are growing inside Sudanese territory is 1786 farmers," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Omar Qamaruddin told reporters last week.
Khartoum confirmed that it had agreed with Addis Ababa to demarcate the border between them to limit the entry of Ethiopian farmers to its lands after discussions by a Sudanese delegation with its Ethiopian counterparts.
Kamar El-Din added: "We agreed with the Ethiopians that the joint committee would start setting the specific marks for the borders next October and that it would finish its work in March 2021."